Nectresse and the Wonderful World of Smoothies

Here's the latest in product review posts from my Sugar 'N Spice Influenster box!  Here's my standard disclaimer shill - I got the Nectresse free from Influenster! Yay me!  Influenster isn't paying me to write this review (I wish, right!?)  I'm sharing with you a Nectresse recipe that I found as part of my latest obsession. Smoothies!

Yum!

Attack of the Zombie Cake Pops!

I love being a crafty mom.  But every once in a while, a project comes along that is completely over my head.  It's always something that seems easy, but just blows up right in my face.  And one of those things is cake pops.  They look SO easy, and I've seen a million tutorials on Pinterest.  And of course, all of the tutorials have perfectly crafted cake pops that are now STARING INTO MY SOUL.  And they're mocking me.

It seemed so easy!  I had a kit with instructions and everything! They're Gingerbread Cake Pops that my hubby's aunt got for us.  Knight has been bugging me for days to make them.  Dragon, of course, just wanted the end result.  We had some free time today, so I decided to have some mommy/son time and make them with Knight.  Here's the box:

Simple, right?

Goodies Box January 2013

Oh wow.  Nothing says "party weekend!" like having two sick little boys.  So much cleaning, and laundry, and wiping noses, and trying to remember exactly when you gave that last dose of medicine so you're not OD'ing your poor kid on ibuprofen.  I also had two very different patients.  Knight was happy to just lie in bed, watching movies and being a good little patient.  I'm sure you can guess where this is going... Yep, Dragon wasn't happy unless he was cuddling in my arms and coughing in my face.  Gross.  So imagine my happiness when I staggered outside on Saturday for a breath of fresh air and found my box o'Goodies!  Nothing says love like snacks on my porch.

That's love right there.

Oven Bacon

Welcome to my first foray into blogging about food.  By the way, the title is not a typo.  Not Oven Bakin'.  Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to tell you that your days of slaving over a hot stove while grease drops aggressively accessorize your shirt are over.  You see, several months ago, my husband realized that you can lay out bacon on a cookie sheet, pop it in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes, and get perfect, crispy, delicious bacon.  And this, good people, is why he's the king.  And it's good to be the king. (Feel free to read that using whatever Mel Brooks accent you prefer)

I have improved on this method several times over the past few months, and I have a few tips and tricks.  Some hints for the novices of bakin' bacon (hehe!).  First, use the thickest bacon cuts you can find.  If you can find it, use a "Butcher's Cut", which is about three to four times thicker than regular bacon.  This is because although my appetite for bacon is infinite, the room on my cookie sheet is not.  You can generally line up one pound of butcher's cut bacon across one cookie sheet, while regular cut will take two or more.  Another tip is to pre-heat your oven.  Anytime you're dealing with raw meat, the less time it spends at room temperature, the better.  Safety first!  Also, make sure your kids are well clear of the oven when you take the bacon out.  Dragon and Knight come running when the timer goes off, and always want to be RIGHT THERE when I take it out of the oven!  Once it's out, I line a plate with paper towels and use tongs to transfer the bacon to the plate.  I pat the top with more paper towels to remove excess grease.

For easy cleanup, line the cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  This keeps the mess contained, and if you're reasonably coordinated (I generally let my hubby handle this part), after the cookie sheet has cooled, you can slide the foil off the sheet and right into the trash.  Also, if you're bakin' bacon* along with another item like biscuits or a casserole, put the bacon on the bottom.  Bacon fat will still pop and fly while it's cooking, and you don't want your biscuits hunkering down, desperately avoiding a greasy air assault.  They will end up tasting like fear and unkept promises, and your children WILL NOT eat them!

Just so you know, I'm not trying to promote this as a brand-new thing.  I've seen other people posting their own knowledge of this incredible process, and I'm sure that there are several of you who have figured it out already.  So I know what you're thinking.  If this is nothing new, why post about it?  Because, my friends, there is another breakfast meat crying out for its own time in the sun.  Or rather, in the oven.  It's sausage, people.  And it can be baked, too!

A few nights ago, I made "breakfast for dinner", and promised the boys sausage patties.  I was staring at the roll of sausage, wishing I had promised them bacon, and thought, "There has got to be an easier way!  To the Internet!  Google, work your magic!"  After a quick search, I found a post from another blog called Cookie and Claire. (Click here to read it!)  Basically, this woman is a genius.  The methods of making sausage and bacon in the oven are quite similar.  She does recommends lining the sheet with parchment paper instead of aluminum foil, but I used foil and it turned out fine.  There are two ways to make it - you can either form individual patties and bake them, or (and this is much easier!), simply flatten the roll into one large, oblong patty and cut it into slices with a pizza cutter when you're done!

Hopefully, this information helps you.  It's my personal goal to learn something new every day, and to help others do the same.  As always, when cooking meat, use caution, make sure it's cooked thoroughly, and wash those hands!

Love, Leigh

*No, I will not stop!  Eventually, you'll start giggling when you say it, just like I do.